One of the wonderful community members for the Dear Self: I Do project linked me to this wonderful post by Gala Darling giving us all some inspiration for radical self love.

There are some brilliant suggestions here in amongst all the love hearts and pink glitter, suggestions that extend well beyond ‘pamper yourself’ and other well worn platitudes. This list includes such gems as:

“Clean out your closet.
In addition to getting rid of old junk, cleaning out closets or cupboards is therapeutic because at the same time, you’re clearing space in your life for new, better things.”

Letting go of physical clutter can be a great help in clearing out mental cobwebs too.

“Celebrate the ways in which you have grown & changed.
Growth is good, change is wonderful, evolution is fantastic. It’s proof that we’re on a path, that we’re going somewhere, that we’re living out our story to its full potential. Bake yourself a cake or somethin’!”

I’m a big believer in celebration – possibly evidenced by the creating of a ceremonial situation in which to dedicate ourselves to our own self. If we spent the same amount of energy celebrating our small victories instead of crucifying ourselves over every little thing we identify in which we’ve failed, imagine where you’d be on your journey? Anything is possible.

Overall that’s what I get from this particular post… that anything is possible. Love yourself, be yourself in the fullest expression you can imagine, then expand that a hundred times again. We don’t know what we’re capable of, because we never give ourselves the opportunity to really explore, being willing to fail, fall flat and suffer the rejection and ridicule we fear.

Nine times out of ten that’s now how things play out anyway… and in all honesty even if they do, there’s a whole experience you have of the world that those doing the ridiculing and rejecting won’t ever know. And here we are back to small victories.

All the biggest victories are made up of these tiny victories. What are your tiny victories?

As a visionary I’ve been working toward this since November. Today it culminated and I am completely humbled and moved by it.

I’m so proud of Kat for her.organisation and making this happen – it really would have been impossible without her to step up, take a chance and throw herself in the deep end. I love her willingness to try things out, to fall flat, to be involved in something she thinks is cool and put her own stamp on it.

I’m so proud of Sarah for leading the ceremony, and generating the space of it so *strongly*. Those participating couldn’t have helped but to get an experience of themselves that was completely new. I love that she spoke and that when she did, it was *real* and there was *power* that invited people to take this for themselves.

I’m so proud of everyone who participated, ,having the courage to stand up and make the vow you did today really took something. I hope that it was personal and meaningful to you, that you saw yourself in a whole new light. I hope you treasure your moment of promising as yours for yourself alone.

Thank you to everyone who contributed, be it conversation, propping up inspiration, pointing out potential problems, organising, spreading the word and everything else. It couldn’t have happened without you.

For me, I will never forget the sound of those voices swearing their vows together, I’ll never forget witnessing everyone sign their certificate. I’ll never forget speaking to life the poem that I wrote, with contributions from Daniel and Sarah – it was everything I imagined. I’ll never forget hearing the ceremony that I drafted and that was collaboratively edited being generated into spoken reality as people stood and listened, were part of it.

I’m humbled and inspired. I am deeply moved. I can see what is possible when people stand for themselves. There was so much love and sharing present – and that doesn’t surprise me out of an event that is a celebration of self and love/respect/care for self.

As Sarah said at the end, what you can give when your ‘tank’ runs full, is so much more than a constant giving from an empty tank. Anything is possible.

The ceremony will be led by Sarah Parker, who was part of the inspiration for the project in the first place. Readings will be performed by Jaunita during the ceremony. In recognition for your having taken part in the ceremony we’ll provide you with your very own certificate, and a copy of the ceremony (electronic copies are available upon request).

We will be starting promptly at 11:30am, but feel free to turn up anytime from 11am onwards. After the ceremony there will be a picnic – feel free to bring a plate! We’ll be providing some bottled water, but we recommend you bring your own as well.

The ceremony can be anything you want it to be, and it’s completely up to you. You can present yourself with some jewellery or something else as a token to mark the day, you can dress up or buy yourself some flowers – consider what would make the day special for you. We’re available to discuss this with you between now and Sunday, feel free to give us a call or email us on the contact details below.

We’d love you to RSVP so we know how many people to expect, but we won’t be turning anyone away on the day either – even an sms on the morning will be gratefully received! We’re looking forward to seeing you and celebrating with you on Sunday.

I have a lot of passion, love, and laughter in my life and I want to empower people to have this for themselves. I am always conscious about being the best person I can be in any given moment, and I have learnt to be accepting of mistakes when I fail. I love who and what I am, and my centredness is what I hope to share with you. I have been active in the Perth pagan community for some time, and have worked in different disciplines. I have created non-denominational safe spaces and facilitated discussions towards finding the true self. I want every person to experience the joy of learning their own amazingness, and I want to share this with you.

I sincerely believe that if we treated every part of ourselves with love, trust and honour, the world would be a better place. From a place of love and respect we can change the world. I want to leave this place better than when I arrived in it, and I invite you to join me in this journey!